"Director, are you heading out?"
Just as Yukawa arrived at the orphanage, he saw Nonō Yakushi hurrying out the door.
"Yukawa?"Nonō paused slightly, surprised. "What brings you here? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. It's Sunday, so I thought I'd come back to visit the orphanage," Yukawa said, holding up a picture book. "I also brought some gifts for the kids."
"That's very thoughtful of you."Nonō smiled gently.
"It's no big deal," Yukawa shook his head. "Everyone here's always been good to me."
"Then go see them."Nonō patted his head. "I'm heading to Konoha Hospital."
"Is it for a surgery?" Yukawa asked casually.
Nonō Yakushi wore many hats—director of the orphanage, a shinobi of Root, and a doctor at Konoha Hospital.
Given her skills, any surgery she participated in likely wouldn't be for an ordinary shinobi.
"No, it's a meeting," she replied after a pause. "Lady Tsunade is back at the hospital—she's resumed her role as head of the medical department."
"Lady Tsunade?" Yukawa's eyes lit up. "Can I come along? I'm a big fan of hers—I've always wanted to meet her."
Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, was an idol to many shinobi.
Saying he was her fan wouldn't raise any suspicions.
"She's in a meeting today. It wouldn't be appropriate," Nonō said after thinking it over. "But next Saturday, I'll take you to meet her."
"Okay."Yukawa could only suppress his curiosity for the time being.
"I'll be off then. See you next time."Nonō retracted her hand and walked off in the direction of Konoha Hospital.
Yukawa watched her back, deep in thought.
So Tsunade really is in the village at this point in the timeline.
But unfortunately, he only had an affinity for Yin Release, not Yang Release.
His Yin Release affinity had emerged after his past-life memories awakened, enhancing his spiritual power.
Then what about Yang Release? Would that be related to physical strength?
He suddenly thought of the E-rank trait "Robust Constitution" he hadn't acquired yet. One of its synthesis paths might involve a Yang Release affinity.
Even if that wasn't the case, it was still worth trying—training the body never hurt.
After a week of exercise, the progress bar for "Robust Constitution" had already reached 60%.
One more week, and he should be able to obtain it.
Maybe even less than that, since he was training longer each day.
Yukawa entered the orphanage, handed the picture books to the kids, played with them for a while, then left.
Walking along the main road, he pondered when exactly Kabuto Yakushi had arrived at the orphanage.
Though the original work never gave a specific date, it was definitely after the Third Great Ninja War.
A sense of urgency welled up within him.
The ninja wars weren't just dangerous—they were lethal even for Kage-level shinobi.
"Yukawa!"
Kurenai Yuhi's voice rang from above.
Yukawa looked up and saw her dangling her small feet.
They were glowing white under the warm sunlight.
Before he knew it, he had already walked back to Kurenai's house.
There were two trees outside her door—both pagoda trees.
"What are you doing up there?" Yukawa asked.
Kurenai put on her shoes and leapt down from the tree.
Once she landed in front of him, she extended her hand.
Yukawa raised a brow and locked eyes with her.
"You went out and didn't bring me anything?" Kurenai huffed, hands on hips. "You fail!"
"I don't have any money," Yukawa replied with a light cough.
In truth, he had just forgotten.
Kurenai froze.
Only then did she remember—Yukawa was an orphan without any stable income.
"H-here... take this!"Kurenai shoved a wallet into his hands and quickly turned her face away, cheeks slightly red.
The wallet was pink with a bunny pattern on it.
Yukawa paused, opening it on reflex. Inside was a neat stack of bills.
His stomach suddenly churned.
But he couldn't bring himself to sponge off a pretty little girl.
Most importantly, Kurenai wasn't rich.
If it were someone from the Hyuga or Uchiha clan, he might've considered it.
But the Hyuga clan's little princess hadn't even been born yet.
And if the Uchiha clan had a loli like this, maybe the entire backstory of Naruto would've been halved.
Still, maybe he should seriously think about making some money.
"No need."
Yukawa took her wrist and handed the wallet back.
"Huh?"Kurenai tilted her head and blinked with a cute, clueless expression.
Yukawa's heart stirred. He reached out and patted her head.
Kurenai instinctively leaned back but didn't manage to dodge. She could only glare at him.
"You still haven't told me what you were doing here," Yukawa casually shifted the topic.
He ruffled her hair twice and retracted his hand.
Hmm... Smooth hair. Nice feel.
"My dad's looking for you," Kurenai said, coming back to her senses.
"Where is he?"Yukawa stepped inside, changing his shoes at the entrance.
"I'll go get him."Kurenai tucked the wallet away and skipped off toward Yuhi Shinku's room.
Soon after, the two of them returned to the living room.
"Yukawa," Yuhi Shinku got straight to the point. "How's your chakra extraction training coming along?"
Yukawa stood and gave a demonstration.
"Not bad," Shinku said with a smile. "You're almost catching up to Kurenai's level."
Yukawa had been training for only a week, while Kurenai had been practicing for nearly six months.
That was… kind of terrifying.
Kurenai huffed in protest.
She was clearly annoyed but couldn't find anything to refute.
Shinku found her reaction adorable.
He reached out to pat her head, but Kurenai dodged with a swift hop backward.
"Your chakra control is barely acceptable now. You can start learning genjutsu."
Shinku cleared his throat, clearly a bit awkward.
Just as the saying goes—speak of the devil.
Yukawa perked up instantly.
While genjutsu could be underwhelming in later arcs, it was still quite effective against regular shinobi.
Kurenai also became serious.
This would determine who outshined whom in the future.
She refused to lose!
"Genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu form the three fundamentals of a shinobi," Shinku lifted his chin slightly, speaking with pride. "But few specialize in genjutsu."
"That's because genjutsu is the hardest to master at the start. It requires innate talent."
He clearly wanted to show off in front of his daughter.
And it wasn't a lie—no one in the entire Leaf Village understood genjutsu better than he did.
Except the Uchiha clan.
"Uncle Shinku, are you a genjutsu specialist?" Yukawa asked knowingly.
"I am," Shinku said with a full smile.
"Teach us already!"Kurenai urged impatiently.
She only wanted to master genjutsu as fast as possible, beat Yukawa, and become the boss.
Shinku's smile froze.
Was this still his sweet little girl?